WIMBORNE IN BLOOM DUCK RACE RAISES OVER £1,900

The 25th Wimborne in Bloom August Bank Holiday Weekend Duck Race has raised over £1,900 towards ‘In Bloom’ funds in particular towards the planting up of the planters around Town for the Autumn.

The Mayor of Wimborne Minster, Cllr Jeff Hart accompanied by the Mayoress Mrs Barbara Hart and the Town Crier Chris Brown together with members of the Wimborne in Bloom Committee and other helpers launched the Ducks into the River Allen by the Riverside Mews Café Bridge on the afternoon of Saturday 25th August. With the river level being on the low side it was a slow race with the first duck taking almost thirty minutes to cross the finishing line behind the Rising Sun Public House in East Street.

Once again to meet the demand for tickets some of the ducks were ‘co-owned’ as it would have been impractical to increase beyond a thousand the number of ducks launched into the river. It meant that the prize money could be doubled as both owners would be eligible for the full value of all prizes. In the event five of the winning ducks were ‘co-owned’ and the full list of results is as follows:

1st Duck to cross the line was No: 864 owned by Pam Bird who won £50. The 2nd Duck No: 520 was co-owned by Mary Allen and Richard Burns who both won £25. 3rd Duck No: 181 was co-owned by Dawn White and Christine Wyre who both received £10, the 4th Duck No: 226 was co-owned by Mrs Davidson and Pat Clark who both won £5. The 5th Duck No: 436 also with a prize of £5 was co-owned by Sue Dibben and Millie Small and the 6th Duck No: 76 was also co-owned by Paul and Mrs Feltham the winnings were £5. The last Duck home No: 353 was co-owned by Derek O'Connor and Mrs Hine who both received a bottle of wine. Two of the winners donated their prize money back to Wimborne in Bloom for which we are truly grateful. We are still trying to contact Mrs Feltham whose contact number was incorrectly recorded so if you are out there please ring 01202 888703 to claim your winnings!

All ducks had been pre-sold at £1 a time thanks to both the Co-Op and Waitrose Supermarkets allowing members of Wimborne in Bloom to sell tickets outside their stores.

Richard Nunn, Chairman of Wimborne in Bloom speaking after the Race "thanked everyone who helped with the selling of tickets and all those who purchased ‘Ducks’ in support of Wimborne in Bloom. It was great to see such a large crowd with all those smiling faces as people followed the race down the river trying to spot their 'duck'. In addition to thanking both the Co-Op and Waitrose he also expressed thanks to the Slocock Trust for the use of the Bridge from which to launch the ducks and the Rising Sun for all their help with the use of their garden area after the race and indeed for the ‘ducks’ they sold. beforehand and Puddle Ducks Dorset who sponsored the prizes which were given out in the presence of a six foot duck!"